


Kitty Care

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [43]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Day Seven - Tropes, F/M, klarolineauweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 22:11:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6584587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: KC: I got cursed and turned into an animal and taken to the shelter and now I'm being adopted by someone who is really hot OH FUCKING NO</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kitty Care

She cowered in the corner, not particularly enjoying the interest she's receiving from one of the other cats in the pen.

Yes, other cats. Because Bonnie did a spell while Damon was distracting her, and _poof_! Caroline was a tiny, terrified tabby cat.

Luckily, she still felt like Caroline. She didn't really feel any feline instincts, and hopefully this would be settled before she felt the need to groom herself. Yuck.

Of course, it was sort of her own fault she was in the animal shelter. Mad that Bonnie didn't have an immediate fix-it, Caroline might have ran out of the house and into the woods. She was fine for a while, but her smaller body threw off her sense of direction and familiarity with the area. When some hikers found her wandering, Caroline thought she was saved.

She supposed she was, in a way. Except they dropped her in this animal shelter, inconveniently outside of Mystic Falls. How was Bonnie supposed to change her back, now?

Warily watching the larger cat approach her, Caroline looked for any chance of escape. One of the volunteers opened the door, and she was off like a shot to freedom. Unfortunately, the volunteer just caught Caroline up in his arms as she tried to race between his legs.

"You're a squirrelly one, aren't you," he cooed, cuddling her to his chest. "I've got someone who wants to meet you."

Seriously, she wanted to scream. Sure, it was a nice confidence booster for someone to try and adopt her the first day, but she needed to find Bonnie. Struggling in the volunteer's hold, Caroline considered baring her tiny teeth when he suddenly plopped her on the counter.

Sensing another opportunity, Caroline scrambled to make a break for it. Her claws kept slipping on the countertop, though, only to send her careening into another body. Large hands kept a firm hold on her, pressing her against a warm chest.

"Careful," the volunteer warned. "She's a feisty one."

"Oh, I know," a familiar voice rumbled through the chest against Caroline's ear. She froze, taking in the well-known scent. "I'll be taking her home now."

His voice dropped with the weight of compulsion, and Caroline finally peeked up at her savior.

Smirking, Klaus turned to walk out of the shelter, rubbing his thumb along the back of her neck absentmindedly. "Don't worry, love," he said, looking down. "Bonnie called. We'll get you back to fighting shape in no time."

This time, Caroline gave into her more basic urges and sank her teeth into his thumb.

* * *

It had been an entire week. When Caroline wasn't cat-napping all over Klaus's ridiculous mansion, she alternated between angrily pouting in his general direction or destroying all of his stuff.

"I didn't do this to you, sweetheart," he reminded her, harshly pulling her off the Victorian footstool she had been clawing her way through. "Please stop punishing me for daring to intervene when you're the one who got yourself in that shelter in the first place."

Sticking out her little kitty tongue, Caroline dug her claws into his arm instead.

* * *

Despite her annoyance with the situation, Caroline did appreciate Klaus coming to her rescue and taking care of her. More often than not, that was how she justified slipping into his bedroom when he was asleep. It took some effort and multiple attempts, but she always managed to jump onto his bed and snuggle next to him.

Most mornings, he would just smile and go on with his day. Acknowledging it just made it weirder.

Some days, he wouldn't get out of bed right away. Instead, he'd lazily stroke her fur as they watched the morning brighten out the window. It was quiet and content; even Caroline hated to break the peace of those days.

One morning, Caroline awoke slowly. The familiar feel of Klaus's skin comforted her for a moment, until she realized that her full-length, human body was pressed up against him.

_Naked_.

Shrieking, Caroline backed to the far corner of the bed, dragging the sheet with her.

Klaus was up in an instant, always prepared for threats. He only calmed once he realized it was only Caroline, smirking smugly when he noticed her state of dress. "Welcome back to the world of bipeds, sweetheart," he joked, leaning back into the pillows.

"Clothes, please," she asked weakly. She kept her forehead pressed to her knees, mortification taking over immediately. Gratefully accepting the shirt he threw at her, it wasn't until she had it situated around her torso that she felt the warmth. Looking up, she glared at his now shirtless body. "Is that really necessary?"

He shrugged. "You're the one who invited yourself to sleep in my bed," he answered. "I would hate to make this more uncomfortable for you by withholding my shirt."

"Hah," she laughed, heavy sarcasm dripping from her tone. Pulling her hair out of the shirt, she was surprised to see that it looked fairly clean. "Do you think Bonnie fixed the spell?"

"Probably just ran out of juice," Klaus said, not worried in the slightest. "As long as you're safe, I'll call it a job well done."

"Yeah, well," she said, moving out of the sinfully comfortable bed. "Thanks for letting me ruin all your stuff, but I should probably get going now. Make sure Bonnie didn't do any long-term damage."

Before she could leave, though, Klaus shot out of bed to gently grab her by the wrist. "Wait," he said with a charming smile. "Let me take you to dinner tonight."

Narrowing her eyes, Caroline tried to ignore the pleasure she felt at the offer. "I think I'll just have a saucer of milk," she joked.

"I'm sure it'd taste better off fine china," he pointed out, dimples deeply enticing her.

Sighing, Caroline pulled her wrist from his grasp. "I think I've spent enough time in this place," she answered, looking around the bedroom in particular. His downcast look hit her hard. "But I could really go for some curly fries at the Grill."

Damn, did Klaus have a nice smile.

She still smacked his hand away when he jokingly tried to scratch her ear later that night, though. Despite the short while to the contrary, Caroline was _not_ a cat who could be tempted by ear scratches. Klaus would have to come up with another way to stay in her good graces, and she had a feeling he already had a few ideas.


End file.
